LAHORE, Sept 29: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Punjab government on Friday signed an agreement to rehabilitate salt affected and waterlogged land. The project will be completed in four years.

The Rs800 million joint agreement was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi at his secretariat by officials of the provincial government and UNDP resident representative Jan Vandemoortele.

Agriculture minister Arshad Lodhi, chief secretary Salman Siddique, P&D chairman Suleman Ghani and other senior officials were also present on the occasion.

The chief minister said millions of acres would be made cultivable through this project, directing the officials concerned to especially include the areas of southern Punjab in it. The project would help in enhancing agriculture produce and improving the economic conditions of farmers.

He said the project would help reduce poverty, improve environment and rehabilitate land. Under it, he said research laboratories would be established and modern equipment and technology would be used. He said a special attention would be paid to research for ascertaining the reasons for water-logging and salinity, adding the results of the research would passed on to farmers for their education.

The chief minister said the project would help enhance the production capacity of rehabilitated land, increasing the income of the farmers and motivating them to work more to attain self-reliance. He said they would also be trained in using modern agriculture equipment and technology. He said tubewells would be installed to rehabilitate land and the farmers would be guided into sowing crops helpful in eliminating water-logging and salinity. The project would be implemented through a management unit, he said.

The chief minister said as agriculture had central position in the country’s economy, the government was paying a special attention to its development. It was advancing soft loans to the farmers to help them purchase necessary equipment.

He said proper payment to the farmers for their crops had been ensured. The age-old irrigation system is being modernised which will help provide water to the farmers at tail-ends, he said.

Arshad Lodhi also spoke.